CHRISTOPHER Halliwell may have murdered dozens more women.

That is the chilling conclusion reached by former Detective Superintendent Steve Fulcher in his new book, Catching A Serial Killer.

Halliwell, a former taxi driver who used the cover of his employment to target young women, will never be released from prison.

In 2012, he pleaded guilty to murdering 22-year-old Sian O’Callaghan in March of the previous year.

In 2016, he was convicted after a trial of killing Becky Godden-Edwards in 2003. He buried the 20-year-old’s body in a Gloucestershire field where it remained, undiscovered, for eight years.

Swindon Advertiser:

  • Flowers left at the field where Becky Godden-Edwards' body was discovered.

But the former police officer, who investigated the case when Sian first went missing in 2011, and who persuaded Halliwell to lead him to the girls’ bodies, believes there are many more victims.

It is a theory that Wiltshire Police have only recently been willing to acknowledge.

Speaking after the 2016 trial, Detective Superintendent Sean Memory, who has been leading the investigation in recent years, said: “Halliwell talked candidly in 1985 about wanting to be a serial killer and I genuinely believe that’s a distinct possibility.”

But in his book, Mr Fulcher says it is “scandalous” that it has taken the force so long to acknowledge what he believes has been clear for some time.

He argues the discovery of clothing and other items around a Ramsbury pond in 2014, including boots belonging to Sian O’Callaghan and Becky Godden-Edwards’ cardigan, points to a murderer hoarding ‘trophies’ from previous victims. There were 60 items buried nearby.

“If my suspicions are right,” he wrote, “if the evidence in the trophy store suggests a truth that still lies hidden, then Halliwell had a prolific propensity to murder – perhaps as often and once or twice a year.”

He accuses Wiltshire Police of being reluctant to explore the full extent of Halliwell’s potential offending, even going so far as to say they had declined to interview witnesses whose details were passed to them.

“One witness came forward to say they were sure they had seen Halliwell and still-missing Claudia Lawrence together,” he wrote. “Given the description of a man connected with Claudia’s case is identical to Halliwell and she went missing on the same day of the year as Sian – March 19 – you might think that witness statement would be taken, but it never has been to my knowledge.”

Claudia’s mother, Joan Lawrence, has now asked police to let her look through the clothing found at Ramsbury in a bid to identify items belonging to her daughter.

“Karen (Becky’s mother) also passed on information regarding another woman, Linda Razzell – who also vanished on March 19 (in 2002) and whose body has never been found,” added the former detective.

Swindon Advertiser:

  • Sally Ann John, Linda Razzell and Claudia Lawrence are all discussed in the book.

Mr Fulcher says the date of March 19 is crucial as it is the same day that officers believe Halliwell broke up with a former girlfriend in the 1980s – the inference is that he has engaged in a pattern of offending linked to that significant date since.

Linda Razzell’s estranged husband Glyn is in prison for her murder. Mr Fulcher doesn’t argue that he is innocent, but he is critical that the possibility has not been explored more thoroughly.

He claims that very recently, Wiltshire Police assigned a detective to review the Razzell case. The force say it is “inappropriate at this time to discuss specific cases.”

The book also claims that Halliwell was an “obsessive” client of Sally Ann John, a prostitute not seen since September 8, 1995.

Earlier this year, forensic teams moved in to the rear yards of two houses in Broad Street where Halliwell used to live.

Swindon Advertiser:

  • Forensics officers at Broad Street earlier this year.

Mr Fulcher believes that was connected to the investigation into the murder of Sally Ann John.

He wrote: “Why didn’t Wiltshire Police dig up Broad Street back in 2011? Why has it taken them more than half a decade to properly investigate Sally Ann’s known link to Halliwell?”

In a final attack on his former force, Mr Fulcher wrote: “Whoever the six – or 60 – other victims are, they are real people with mothers, fathers, siblings and friends.

“People’s lives have been wrecked, for the rest of time, by whatever has happened to their relative.

“A police investigation that fails to scrutinise every possible clue is one that fails families. It fails victims.”

POLICE COME OUT IN DEFENCE OF THEIR INVESTIGATION

WILTSHIRE Police have defended their investigation in light of the accusations made in Steve Fulcher’s book.

A spokesman for the force said: “The book released by Steve Fulcher was written and published completely independently of Wiltshire Police and reflects entirely his personal views and not those of the force.

“Christopher Halliwell is no longer a danger to the public following his whole life tariff sentence in September 2016 and this could not have been achieved without the diligence and dedication of the investigation team at Wiltshire Police.

"As with all complex murder investigations with multiple strands, our teams relentlessly continued to investigate these murders.

"This included the reviewing of items seized, appealing for new witnesses, forensic reviews and working closely with the Crown Prosecution Service for trial preparation.   

Swindon Advertiser:

  • Officers conducting a fingertip search as part of the investigation into Christopher Halliwell.

"During this on-going murder investigation into Halliwell, Wiltshire Officers and staff diligently obtained 1736 statements, generated and completed 3546 actions, seized over 2717 documents and catalogued 2556 exhibits.

"The investigation team was tasked with building an entirely new case for the Becky Godden murder prosecution.

"This investigation was conducted diligently and was unprecedented in size and complexity. No murder investigation in Wiltshire in recent years has generated so much material.

“They were absolutely dedicated to ensuring this case was not thrown out of court due to previous breaches in legislation by Steve Fulcher at the time of the arrest of Christopher Halliwell. Their main focus was ensuring justice was done for the families of the victims.

Swindon Advertiser: Detective Superintendent Sean Memory Picture: Ben Birchall/PA Wire

  • Det Supt Sean Memory, the officer responsible for leading the succesful prosecution of Halliwell for Becky Godden-Edwards' murder.

“It was conceivable from the early stages of this investigation that there may be further victims and our investigation continues. We will continue to keep an open mind and follow the evidence wherever it may take us.

"We welcome any new information from the public but would discourage unhelpful speculation which could cause further distress to the families involved.

"There has been much speculation in the press in relation to other women who may or may not have been a victim of Halliwell. This speculation is not helpful and is very distressing to the families involved.

"At this time, Wiltshire Police has not uncovered any links between Halliwell and any other murders across the country.

"We are undertaking a proportionate investigation to establish whether Halliwell may have committed any further homicide offences – it would be inappropriate at this time to discuss specific cases.

"Police searches were carried out at a pond and the surrounding area in Ramsbury in 2014.

Swindon Advertiser:

  • Police search teams at the site near Ramsbury in 2014.

"Detectives discovered boots which belonged to Sian O’Callaghan and nearby searches of the woodland revealed a pile of clothing 100 yards away from the pond.

"Under a few inches of mud, detectives removed the material, amounting up to 60 pieces, some of which were believed to be clothing. Examination of the fabric was undertaken and we are satisfied that these items did not belong to Sian O'Callaghan. 

"Further examination has not revealed any link with any other missing person at this time but our enquiries into these items continue."

FORMER DETECTIVE BACKS VICTIM'S MUM IN COMPLAINT AGAINST POLICE

STEVE Fulcher has added his weight to calls for an investigation into why it took so long to achieve a successful conviction for Becky Godden-Edwards’ murder. 

Earlier this week, the Adver reported that Becky’s mother, Karen Edwards, had lodged an IPCC complaint about Wiltshire Police’s handling of the case. 

Swindon Advertiser: Karen Edwards

  • Karen Edwards

She wants to know why, despite her daughter’s body being discovered in 2011, it took until 2016 for Halliwell to be tried and found guilty. 

Apart from the obvious delays caused by the breach of police procedure that saw Halliwell’s hillside confession was ruled inadmissible in court, she says there are other serious shortcomings. 

In his book, Mr Fulcher gives his backing to that argument. 

“It was all well and good Sean Memory finally getting some leads going in 2014, but Becky had been found in 2011,” he said. “Everything should have been done by others much earlier.

“The inaction, in my view, was a gross neglect of duty.”

He added that despite claims the conviction was eventually secured on new evidence, much of it had actually been in police hands for years. 

“All the evidence was there years ago, but no investigation had been conducted,” he said. 

“Personally, I think there needs to be an enquiry asking why.”

In relation to the complaint, a spokesman for Wiltshire Police said: "We can confirm that we have received a complaint.

"The Commissioner, through the  professional standards department, is seeking an appropriately independent body to carry out an investigation into the allegations.

“In order to preserve the integrity of the investigation in to the complaint, it would be inappropriate for us to comment further at this stage.”

  • Catching a Serial Killer, published by Ebury Press, is out now.